Challenge Accepted
by lil'nomdeplume
Summary: Tony is faced with his biggest challenge yet- fatherhood. Join Tony and Pepper as they welcome the newest Stark into the world, the events leading up to it, and navigating life as new parents.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I had an overwhelming urge to write this because I'm seriously jonesing for an Iron Baby. I know. I know! I have other stuff I gotta write! But when you're being driven batty by an incessant plot bunny hopping around in your brain telling you to write a delivery room scene, it's really REALLY hard to think about writing anything else!**

 **I tried to make it as realistic as possible by drawing on personal experience without being as graphic as actual reality. Hope it still hits the mark, and you find it enjoyable!**

 **Thanks in advance for reading (And reviewing if you feel so inclined!)**

 **Right now, this is a one-off. But I'm leaving the option open for more. Because you** ** _just never know..._** **;)**

 _Photo credit for cover image: zetson via compfight_

"Oh my _God!_ I can't do this anymore! It's too hard! I'm too tired!" Pepper exclaimed breathlessly.

She and Tony had been in labor and delivery since two am. It was now close to 9 am, and Pepper had been battling through contractions steadily since they arrived. In the middle of the night, she'd awakened suddenly to a strong stab of pain in her back. When it kept coming back every few minutes, Tony insisted they go to the hospital. Pepper dismissed it as only a pesky, lingering cramp, and went to the bathroom to get a drink of water. As soon as she flicked the bathroom light on, and began filling her glass, however, her water broke. At that moment, the Stark household went into full on panic mode. Pepper was trying her best to waddle down the stairs while Tony was racing past her, his arms full of luggage. He yanked open the front door, threw the suitcases out onto the lawn, and ran outside, slamming it behind him. He began piling everything into the trunk, and then hurriedly climbed into the drivers seat of Pepper's car, punching the ignition button and gunning the engine to life. But, almost immediately, he cut the engine, climbed back out and raced back inside, muttering, "Pepper! Almost forgot Pepper! What the hell is the matter with you? Jesus, focus, will you?" Eventually, they _both_ made it into the car, and Tony sped them to the hospital, gripping Pepper's hand anxiously in between shifting gears.

Almost seven hours later, Pepper was teetering on the edge of complete exhaustion, as each contraction had become subsequently more powerful than the last. The only good news was that she had also been steadily dilating, leaving both of them hoping and praying things would stay on that course and she could deliver soon.

"No, no, no, Pepper. Come on, baby. There's no quitting. You _can_ do this. I _know_ you can," Tony encouraged, looking deeply into his wife's eyes.

Pepper panted breathlessly and whimpered. "It's so _hard_ though! And it hurts _so_ much!" she said, her voice warbling from the threat of pain-induced tears.

Tony smiled weakly and nodded in understanding, handing her a cup of ice chips. "I know it does, but..."

"Oh really! _You_ know? _You've_ given birth before? Don't be ridiculous. You don't know how this feels! How _could_ you?" she prattled testily before taking in a mouth full of ice and handing the cup back to Tony.

Tony tried to hide a chuckle at her temper flaring as he set the cup back down on the bedside table. "Okay, you're right. I've never been through _this exact thing_. That would be rather disturbing if I _had,_ actually. But I _did_ have an electro-magnet put into my chest without anesthesia in the mountains of Afghanistan, so _that_ was..."

"Oh _please!_ " Pepper cried, interrupting him. "That was _nothing_ like this!"

Tony frowned dejectedly. "Well, I wouldn't say it was _nothing_ like it. I mean there _was_ a lot of..."

Pepper huffed. "Can we get back to the task at hand, here?!" she exclaimed. "I'm about to give birth to _your_ child. The _least_ you could do is _...huh!"_ she cried, as another strong contraction interrupted her rant. Pepper yelped loudly and squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her teeth.

Tony quickly took Pepper's hand, which she gripped tightly, and fell silent, watching her work through the pain. "That's it, baby. Just breathe," he murmured to her encouragingly. She nodded in acknowledgment of his words, and began to take deep, cleansing breaths. He continued to watch her for signs that the contraction was passing. And soon, she opened her eyes to look at him, her chest heaving to catch her breath. He smiled at her in admiration and planted a kiss on her forehead."You're doing great. You're a natural," he said, looking back into her eyes, his own sparkling with adoration.

"Thank you," she murmured weakly. "And I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just in so much _pain,"_ she explained. She laid back against the hospital bed and closed her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths, and smoothing her hands over her swollen belly. "They keep saying to get some rest between contractions. But I don't see how that's possible."

"I know, right? They're coming one right after another. She must be in a hurry to make her appearance. You haven't caught a break since we _got_ here," he joked, smiling.

Pepper chuckled softly. "Like daughter, like daddy," she joked back. "She has to make a dramatic entrance."

Tony chuckled, and put a hand on her stomach as he listened to the soft _woosh-woosh_ of his daughter's heartbeat coming from the monitor strapped to Pepper's belly. He could feel the baby move, and he smiled, knowing this would be one of the last times he would feel this before she'd be out into the world and in his arms.

Suddenly, Pepper inhaled sharply, and gripped his shirt sleeve in response. Tony's eyes flicked to the bedside monitor tracking her contractions, and then to Pepper's face. "Okay, honey. Here we go. Here comes another one," he said, taking her hand again, and watching her intently.

Pepper squeezed it tightly, and slammed her eyes shut, holding her breath.

"You've gotta breathe, Pep. Come on. _Hee-hee-hoo. Hee-Hee-hoo_ ," he instructed.

Pepper opened her eyes and squinted at him, trying her best to mimic what he was doing.

" _Hee-hee-hoo. Hee-hee-hoo_ ," they both breathed, in unison.

Tony nodded. " _That's_ it. You're doing great. Just keep breathing. _Hee-hee-hoo_ ," he said.

Pepper yowled in pain. "Oh my God! I need to push!" she cried.

Tony's eyes went wide. "Push?! Seriously?! We're _there_ already?!" he exclaimed.

Pepper nodded. "Get the doctor!" she squeaked, as the peak of the contraction hit.

Tony immediately left her side and yanked the door of the room open. "She says she ready to push!" he yelled across the corridor to the nurses station.

Two nurses came running in response. "Okay! Let's check!" one of them said, sliding on a latex glove.

The other tipped the head of Pepper's bed back, laying her on her back more. She panted and whimpered as they checked her dilation, and Tony gripped Pepper's hand nervously, watching with rapt attention.

The nurse checking her nodded at him. "She's right! It's time to push!" she confirmed, smiling. "Looks like we're having a baby! I'll go grab the doctor!"

The one nurse scurried out the door while the other began prepping the room for the imminent arrival of Baby Stark.

"Oh my God!" Pepper cried, her voice giving out from another round of on-coming tears, this time of the happy variety. She smiled at her husband, who was grinning back at her. "I can't believe it! I can't believe..."

"We _finally_ get to meet her?" Tony finished, excitedly. He beamed back at her.

Pepper smiled and nodded. "I'm so excited! I'm so _exhausted,_ but I'm so excited!" she cried.

Tony chuckled, and just then, the doctor came in, suited up in OR scrubs and grinning. "They tell me we're having a baby this morning!" he said jovially.

" _That's_ the goal!" Tony quipped, still grinning.

The nurses helped Pepper to get sat up as they raised the hospital bed to a steep incline. She set her feet in the stirrups, which were positioned so her knees were bent far back. A bright surgical lamp was flipped on and pointed at the end of the bed, and the doctor took position on a stool between her legs.

"Okay! At the start of the next contraction, bear down!" he instructed happily. "Go as long as you can pushing as hard as you can. Stop when you run out of steam or the contraction ends. Got it?" he asked.

Pepper and Tony both replied, "Got it!" Pepper looked at him curiously, and Tony just smirked sheepishly and shrugged. She smiled and shook her head. But soon her expression changed to one of concern.

"Oh God! Oh! I think another one's coming!" she warned.

"Then 1...2...3..." the doctor said.

"Push!" he and Tony both cried.

Pepper gripped Tony's hand and clenched her teeth, bearing down as hard as she could.

"Good! That's good! Keep going!" the doctor exclaimed.

Pepper grunted and Tony felt her hand clamp even harder around his as she continued to work. He winced. "Yeow! Okay. That's quite a grip you got there, Pep!" he said, his words strained from the discomfort.

Pepper gave one more good push, along with a yelp, and then fell back against the bed, letting go of his hand, which Tony immediately began to open and close while massaging the palm, grimacing as he did it. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, and her cheeks were bright red and flushed. Beads of sweat had collected on her forehead, which Tony promptly dabbed away with a soft cloth. He smiled at his wife, and she smiled back. "Good work, baby," he said. "Just one step closer to meeting our little girl."

"One step out of _thousands,_ it seems like," she said. She winced and sat back up.

"Got another one coming?" Tony asked.

But Pepper didn't have time to respond. The contraction gripped her, and she immediately bared down, grabbing Tony's aching hand again. He winced, and she noticed, but he just dismissed her concern with a wave of his other hand and gritted his teeth as she pushed. Pepper refocused, and panted before baring down again. As she lost her strength, she took some deep breaths and relaxed against the bed. Tony dabbed her forehead again, and kissed it softly. "You're doing great, Pep," he murmured encouragingly.

"Good! _Very_ good! We're making progress, kids!" the doctor announced.

Pepper gasped. "We _are_?" she asked hopefully.

"Yep! Hopefully only a few more pushes and Baby Stark will make be making her long awaited debut!" he replied.

Tony and Pepper beamed at each other with excitement.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Though the doctor had made the assumption that Pepper would deliver soon, it wasn't long before the progress of mother nature had come almost to a standstill. Pepper went on pushing for another hour and a half, yet there was very little change in the baby's position. Several more pushes had moved her only millimeter's farther down the birth canal, and Pepper was quickly losing her stamina.

The contractions had slowed, as well. Which, was a good thing, in a way, allowing Pepper to rest more in between pushes. But it was also a bad thing, as the baby's heart rate would drop with each contraction, and they knew if significant progress wasn't made, she'd need to come out as soon as possible via C-Section to avoid any further duress.

Tony watched helplessly as Pepper's strength got sapped time and time again with each new round. He did his best to try to comfort her, encouraging her, feeding her ice chips, and mopping her forehead.

"Oh, God! I'm so tired!" Pepper whimpered softly to him. "Why isn't this working? Why isn't she here, yet?"

Tony stroked his wife's cheek with the pad of his thumb. "It _is_ working, Pep. It's just taking a little longer, that's all," he assured her. "The doc says we'll keep going as long as we can. Any progress is good progress, he told me. But he also doesn't want to completely exhaust you, either. If it looks like there's no other way, you'll have to have a C-section, okay?"

Pepper's chin started to quiver and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I just wanna hold her," she murmured hopelessly. "I just want this to be done, so we can meet our daughter."

Tony smiled, and wiped away the tear. "I know, baby. I know. Me, too. And you know what? We _will. Soon_ ," he assured her.

"I don't want a C-section. Don't let them do it. I have to do this on my own. Tell them, Tony. I have to do this myself," Pepper pleaded.

Tony gave her a sympathetic smile. "You _can_ do this, Pep. I _know_ you can. But if the doc says the baby's not moving, we have to do what's best for _her_ , right? And does it really matter _how_ she comes into the world? Only that's she's healthy and safe when she _does?_ "

Pepper sniffed as another tear escaped her eye. She nodded solemnly. "Of course," she murmured.

Tony nodded back, and planted a gentle kiss on her damp forehead. "I love you," he murmured, resting his forehead on hers. "And no matter what happens, I'm proud of you. Okay?"

"Okay," she murmured back, closing her eyes and relishing her husband's affection. But the tender moment was quickly interrupted by another contraction.

Pepper pursed her lips, and winced as the pain washed over her. "Oh! Ow, ow, ow!" she squealed.

"Okay! Time to push!" Tony instructed, taking her hand again. "Push _hard,_ baby! Push _hard!_ "

"I _am!_ " Pepper cried, as she gritted her teeth and grunted, pushing with everything she had.

"That's it! That's it! Keep going!" the doctor exclaimed.

"Is it working? Is she moving?" Tony asked him hopefully.

The doctor nodded, and quickly gave instructions for the nurses to get ready. "Okay, Virginia! It's crunch time! Push whenever you feel the urge, contraction or not. That last one got some work done for us, and she's moving down nicely now."

" _Really?! Oh my God!_ " Pepper exclaimed excitedly. Her vigor was renewed, and she took a deep breath, before baring back down, and grunting loudly.

"Push, Pepper! Push, push, push! You're doing it, baby!" Tony cried excitedly, their hands clasped tightly together.

Pepper gritted her teeth and kept pushing. She yowled as the contraction passed and her stamina waned. Her chest heaved as she laid back against the bed once again.

"She's almost here, Pep! You're doing so well!" Tony told her, beaming, and mopping her forehead.

"We should see the top of her head on the next push!" the doctor informed them.

Tony and Pepper grinned at each other. Pepper chuckled softly and Tony gently kissed her lips. "You ready to meet your daughter, momma?" he murmured playfully in her ear.

Pepper grinned at him. " _More_ than ready," she replied. "I can't wait."

Tony took her hand, and kissed the back of it sweetly, gazing into her eyes, his own sparkling with anticipation. "Then let's have a baby, huh?" he said, smiling. He glanced at the monitor, which was showing another contraction was fast approaching. "Uh-oh. Here's our shot, Pep. Get ready!" he warned.

Pepper nodded and took some deep breaths. When the first wave of pain hit, she clenched her teeth and bared down once more, pushing as hard as she could with every ounce of strength she could muster.

"That's it! Push push push! Aaaaaaannnnnddddd!..." the doctor exclaimed, as the top of the baby's head began to appear. "We're crowning! And I'm seeing _lots_ of dark hair, guys!"

"Huh! Oh my God!" Pepper cried breathlessly. She panted for a moment, and then took another deep breath and bared down once more. This time, the pain went from sharp and stabbing to a searing burn.

Pepper yowled and gripped the railings on the bed, arching her back. "Oh my _God,_ this hurts _so_ _much!"_ she screamed.

"Push push push!" the doctor ordered.

Pepper whimpered, but kept pushing. She lolled her head to rest on Tony's shoulder, and she gripped his hand again. Tony glanced downward just in time to see his daughter's head emerge, and he gasped.

"Look, Pep! Look! Here she comes!" he cried, in awe. Pepper had slammed her eyes shut again when she'd started to push, but quickly opened them at his behest. She gasped and panted, as she watched her daughter appear.

"One more push and we'll be done, kids!" the doctor announced.

Tony looked at Pepper and nodded resolutely, grinning. Pepper nodded and took a deep breath, baring down one last time. After only a few moments, the baby's shoulders appeared, and the doctor worked to pull the newborn into the world the rest of the way. He held up the baby for them to see, and Tony and Pepper gasped. "Congratulations! It's a girl!" he announced.

The baby was long, and had a thick mop of dark hair. She was wriggling and not at _all_ happy to be so rudely removed from her warm and cozy residence for the last nine months. She let out a spluttering cry as she squirmed, her arms and legs extending and contracting widely. The doctor turned her to suction her nose and mouth and cut the cord, and then he placed the infant into Pepper's arms.

"Oh my God! Your _beautiful!_ " Pepper said to her daughter, happy tears filling her eyes as she gazed adoringly at the baby. The infant quieted her cry to a whimper at the sound of her mother's voice, and Tony extended a finger down, which she instantly grasped in her hand, wrapping her tiny fingers around it.

He chuckled. "I can't believe it! She's _here!_ And look at all that hair!" he cried in amazement. They both chuckled at the thick shock of dark hair on their daughter's head. Tony stroked the little girl's fingers with the pad of his thumb. He was completely mesmerized by this tiny being, and took his eyes off of her only long enough to look at his wife in adoration. Pepper turned her eyes to look at him and they both smiled lovingly. "You did it, Pep," he murmured lovingly. "You did it. You're _amazing."_

Pepper smiled lovingly. "You were a big help," she said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

Tony smirked and chuckled. "Well, you wouldn't have _had_ to do it, if we hadn't..." he began.

"Okay, that's enough of _that,_ " Pepper said, promptly stopping him from going into graphic detail. She looked back at their brand new little girl. "But aren't you glad we _did?_ " she murmured mirthfully.

"Oh _yeah,_ " Tony replied in agreement, smiling fondly at the now drowsy baby. He rested his forehead on Pepper's, and turned his head back to watch his daughter. He sniffed and Pepper looked at him. He chuckled bashfully at her as a tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek, swiping at it hastily.

Pepper smiled at him. He smiled back, and kissed her forehead again before bringing his gaze back to the baby. A few blissful moments passed between the new parents and their child, each of them oblivious to the chaotic world of the doctor and nurses around them. "My _God,_ isn't she the most perfect baby you've ever seen?" Tony asked, finally. "I can't take my eyes off of her."

Pepper chuckled. "Most _definitely_ ," she replied. "And I think _someone's_ a very proud papa," she teased.

Tony suddenly looked at her in realization. "That's _right,_ " he said, grinning. "I guess I _am_ officially a dad, now, huh! _Wow!_ That's _...phew,"_ he said, in amazement, shaking his head in disbelief.

Pepper chuckled at him. "It only _just_ occurred to you?" she joked.

Tony chuckled again, and shrugged. " _No,_ Ms. Smarty Pants," he joked back. He looked at his daughter again. "But it's for _real_ now, you know?"

Pepper nodded. "You _bet_ it is," she said. "And I can't _wait_ to watch her grow up. What an _adventure,_ " she mused softly, gazing at her very sleepy newborn baby.

Tony smiled and kissed Pepper's temple. "Wouldn't want to be on it with anyone _else,_ either," he said.

They shared a loving smile.

"Ditto," Pepper murmured. Tony gently kissed her lips, and then went back to gazing at the new love of his life.

Just then, a nurse came to the side of the bed. "Can we borrow her for a moment? We need to get her weighed and measured," she said.

"Of course!" Pepper said, carefully handing the baby to her.

Tony stood up. "I wanna watch," he said to the nurse. "Be right back," he told his wife.

He followed the nurse to the other side of the room, and watched, enthralled, as his little girl was weighed and measured, cleaned up, and swaddled tightly in a receiving blanket. The nurse handed her to Tony when they were done, and he gingerly took her into his arms. The baby nuzzled against him, lazily opening one bleary eye to look at her father (bright blue in color, much to Tony's delight, as Pepper's blue eyes were one of his favorite things about her), and then went back to sleep.

"Hey, little lady," he cooed. "Look at how amazing you are. I never _dreamed_ I'd have a daughter, and that you'd be this gorgeous. You're _breathtaking_ , actually," he said. He looked behind him at Pepper and then back at his daughter. "Just like your mom," he said fondly. Then, he slowly turned around to walk back over to Pepper's bedside, moving carefully so as not to jostle the sleeping newborn.

"7 pounds, 14 ounces, and a whopping 22 inches long," he reported proudly. "She's gonna be tall. Just like _you_ , Pep. And she even has your eyes _. Well,_ " he said. "Your eye _color._ She opened one long enough to let me see."

Pepper smiled. "Well, that answers _that_ question, doesn't it?" she asked.

Tony sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, and Pepper reached out for him to hand her the baby. But Tony refused. "Hey, my turn's not done yet," he argued.

Pepper giggled and smiled lovingly at him. "I have a feeling I'm going to have to fight you to get to hold her, aren't I?" she teased.

"Oh, you bet your sweet bippy, you will, Potts," he teased back. "Me and Little Missy here are going to be inseparable. I already know it," he gushed.

"Until there's a poopy diaper to change, that _is,_ " Pepper replied. "Then you won't be able to hand her to me fast enough."

Tony chuckled, glancing at Pepper briefly, and then back at his little girl. "Meh. We'll see," he said, shrugging. "Everybody _poops,_ Pep. Honestly, I don't know _what_ you think would be so bad," he quipped matter-of-fact.

Pepper folded her arms, and smirked wryly at him. "Yeah, _right,_ " she said skeptically. "I'd like to see you do it _once_ without retching."

Tony rolled his eyes, and smirked, looking down at his daughter. "Your mother's already doubting my parenting abilities," he told her. "But we'll show _her,_ won't we, princess? I'm gonna flat out _rock_ this dad thing. And she'll just have to eat her words," he said, before turning his head and smirking cockily at his wife. "So challenge _accepted._ "

Pepper just giggled and rolled her eyes. Then she yawned. "Okay, I need a nap. I'm exhausted," she said.

The nurses were just finishing cleaning up the room, and one of them stepped over to the couple. "You guys okay, here? Do you want us to take her for a while, so you can get some rest?" she asked.

Tony looked at Pepper and shrugged, and the looked at the nurse. "I'm too jacked up to sleep. Plus, I'm perfectly happy spending my time just staring at _her,_ " he said, looking back lovingly at his daughter.

"Fine," Pepper said. "I'm about to fall asleep just sitting here. So, you two enjoy some daddy-daughter time, and _I'm_ going to take a nap," she said.

Tony grinned. " _Daddy-daughter time_. I like the sound of that," he cooed.

The nurse nodded and smiled. "Hit the button if you need anything," she said before leaving. "We'll be in every hour to check her vitals and to see how you're doing."

Pepper thanked the nurse, and then laid back and closed her eyes. She reached back and patted Tony's shoulder affectionately. "Good night, daddy," she said sweetly, before quickly drifting off to sleep.

Tony smiled at her words. "Night night, mommy," he murmured, unable to stop grinning as he once again gazed at the sleeping baby in his arms.

A few quiet moments went by, and the baby sighed in her sleep, which made Tony grin even more. " _God_ , you're beautiful," he murmured softly. "You know, when your mom told me she was pregnant with you, I got a little freaked out, I'll be honest. Like I said, I never thought I'd have a daughter, let alone even get to be a _dad._ I didn't know if I was even somebody who _should_ be a dad. God knows _my_ dad wasn't the best role model," he said. He frowned and chewed his lip for a moment in thought. Then he brought his focus back to the conversation. "But then she and I talked it out, and she calmed me down, and...well? Here we are, right?" He smiled softly. But then his brow furrowed, and his chin began to quiver. "God, _why_ am I being such a _pussy_ today?" he wondered to himself out loud, chuckling sheepishly as he swiped at a tear rolling down his cheek. He blinked back the other oncoming tears and smiled at his daughter again. " _You. Are._ Without a _doubt_. The _greatest_ thing I've ever created," he said, shifting the baby to lay her head on his shoulder. "You work fast, kid. I'm _already_ head over heels for you." He hugged her gently, and planted a soft kiss on the side of her head before he started rubbing slow circles on her back. She sighed again, and melted against her father's shoulder, and he grinned with deep satisfaction.

Pepper, in the meantime, had awakened at the sound of Tony's murmuring, but had stayed turned on her side to quietly eavesdrop. She'd heard every word he'd said, and, by the end, she was struggling to keep a handle on covering the tears flowing from her eyes. She slowly sat up and faced him, grinning impishly, her cheeks wet with tears.

Tony looked at her curiously, and started to ask her what was wrong, but Pepper stopped him by swiftly planting a kiss on his lips. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, but then he gave in, and kissed her back. Pepper slowly broke away, but rested her forehead on his. Tony looked at her curiously. "What was _that_ for?" he asked.

"For what you said to her," Pepper replied. She chewed her lip as her chin began to quiver, and new tears started to flow.

"You heard that? I thought you were asleep!" Tony said, smiling bashfully.

"I _was._ But I heard you talking, and...and..." Pepper tried to explain, but her voice gave out. So she just shook her head. "It was _beautiful. All_ of it," she murmured finally.

"Well, I _meant_ it," Tony replied. He carefully rocked the baby back off his shoulder, palming the back of her head, and cradling her behind in the other. He looked at her and smiled, and then smiled at Pepper. "She's really _something,_ isn't she?" he asked.

Pepper scooted up by his side, and laid a hand on his shoulder. She rested her chin on top of it, and gazed at their daughter as well. "She _is,_ " she cooed lovingly. "And you're going to make a _great_ dad," she said, shifting her eyes to Tony.

He turned to look at her, his face serious with determination. "I hope so, Pep," he said. Then he turned his eyes back to the sleeping infant. "I _really_ do," he murmured.

 **Just so you know- Yes! I am aware that Baby Stark needs a name! I wrote this with the intention of it being more about the moment between Tony and Pepper, than the name of the baby. But, as I said, I'm leaving the option open to write more down the road...;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay. So, so much for this being a one-off! I realized I had** ** _this_** **in my vault, and decided to connect the two! And who knows? I might find more stuff to include. Or just might write some new stuff. Sheesh. Here I go with another story! I'm hopeless. I just can't help myself.**

 **Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming! I love the feedback! And happy reading! :D**

 _Nine months earlier..._

" _Oh my God_ ," Pepper whispered. She was sitting on the lid of the toilet seat in their master bathroom, completely stunned. Her eyes were fixed on the two tiny blue lines on the stick she was holding in her hand. She shook her head in disbelief, and then grabbed the box the test had come in to re-read the instructions. Reading again that the two blue lines equaled a positive, she hastily threw the box in the trash and covered her mouth with her hand. " _Shit,_ " she murmured. " _Shit, shit, shit._ " She blinked to fight back her tears. She'd always pictured this moment being so much different than this. She'd pictured being _married first_ , for one, and to someone who actually _wanted_ to be a father. _F_ _or God's sake!,_ she thought. "What were you thinking?!" she said out loud, admonishing herself. "Tony is going to lose it!"

She shook her head again. "No," she murmured. "No, no, no. He can't know about this right now. I need to ease into it. I need to..." she stopped, swallowing hard at the new threat of tears tightening her throat. She stood up abruptly and jerked one of the bottom drawers open in their vanity. She tossed the test toward the back and slammed the drawer shut again.

Then she examined herself in the mirror, as she hurriedly wash her hands. "Stupid," she said to reflection. "How could you be so stupid?"

Once she had dried her hands, she rushed to meet Tony down in the workshop. He'd wanted to show her the progress that had been made on it and the things he'd changed in the design from the last one. He'd promised that he'd limit his time in the workshop this time around, and that she'd have full authority to pull him out of it if he started to obsess over any one project again. He welcomed her supervision on this. He was still kicking himself for ignoring her so much before and not realizing that she, _they_ , were more important than anything he could create out of metal and wires.

As she made her way down the stairs, she could hear the construction workers moving about, and the sound of power tools being used. The whine of a grinder pierced her ears as she opened the door and she grimaced at the sound. She spotted Tony standing front and center, watching the steel beams above them get put into place and reinforced. He was standing with his arms crossed, but spread them wide to welcome her when he saw her walking toward him.

"Hey, beautiful," he cooed, placing a tender kiss on her temple. He wrapped his arms around her.

"It's really coming along," she remarked, trying to hide her worry behind a broad smile.

"Yeah, it is," he replied proudly. "I wanted to watch this part because I wanted to check the strength of their welds on those beams. I'm trying to up the durability this time."

"Tony, the old house was already earthquake proof," Pepper reminded him.

He looked at her and teeter-tottered his head skeptically. "Yeah, but I'm also thinking more along the lines of making this place a bomb-shelter too, you know? Just in case anything ever happens again." He smiled and looked away, unaware of a new found sense of panic piercing Pepper's heart. _A bomb-shelter?,_ she thought. _We'll be bringing a baby into a world where it's necessary to have a bomb shelter in our own house?!_

It was a bit too much for her to take. She tore herself away from Tony's arms. "Excuse me. I've, um..." she stammered, breathing heavily. Tony looked at her strangely.

"Pep? What's wrong?" he asked, stepping toward her.

"Nothing. I'm just, I'm going to go...I have to go," she stammered again. She spun around on her heels and walked briskly toward the door. She turned around to glance at Tony, who looked completely confused by her behavior. She felt bad for leaving like this, but the panic was too much to take. She yanked the workshop door open and stormed up stairs.

Tony watched as she disappeared, and then turned his gaze to the floor in front of him, trying to understand what had just happened. He shook his head in frustration and made the quick decision to go after her. He wasn't going to let her abruptly leave his side like that without an explanation. She'd been acting weird lately, and he was just about fed up. He had to know what was going on with her. And she was going to tell him once and for all. _Now._

 _XxXxXxXxXx_

Tony found Pepper in their bedroom, sitting on the bench near the window, looking outside. She looked lost in thought, her faced tear-stained and completely saddened, and his temper eased when he saw how distraught she was.

She hadn't noticed him entering the room, or if she had, she didn't acknowledge it. He made his way over to her and knelt in front of her. "Pep?" he said softly. "Honey, what's the matter?"

She turned her gaze to him slowly and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I've let you down." A tear escaped her eye and she swiped at it before returning her gaze to the ocean outside.

Tony frowned. "What do you mean 'you've let me down'?" he asked gently.

Pepper didn't reply. She heaved a heavy sigh and then stood up. Tony stood up, and let her walk past him into the bathroom. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge heavily, waiting for Pepper as she came back again, holding a white stick.

She stood in front of him, and handed it to him silently.

He took it from her, and looked at it, cocking an eyebrow. He looked back up at her. "Ok, help me out here," he said. "What _exactly_ am I looking at?"

" _Jesus,_ Tony," she said, swiping it from him. "This isn't a joke!"

"And I'm _not joking_!" he exclaimed, a little perturbed at her feistiness. "What the _hell_ does a stick with two blue lines... _oh,_ _whoa_ ," he said, quickly recanting. His eyebrows shot up at the sudden realization of what it was. " _Whoa,_ " he said again, looking at her in shock. He stood up suddenly, moving away from Pepper, his hands up in surrender. He chuckled nervously. "Pep, are you?..." he pointed to the stick. "Are you saying that _you're_..." he gulped and smoothed his goatee with a shaky hand. He chuckled nervously again. " _Shit_ ," he said to himself, but he instantly grimaced, knowing that didn't sound right. He looked at her anxiously. "Oh, wait! I'm sorry, baby, that's not..what I..." he stammered, back-peddling.

Pepper frowned and her face wrinkled as she began to cry. He rushed to comfort her. He tried to pull her into his arms, but she pushed him back defensively.

"That's exactly what I _thought_ you'd say!"she exclaimed angrily. "I made a mistake, Tony. I screwed up and now I'm...now I'm..." she stuttered, unable to finish the sentence.

Tony watched helplessly as her shoulders started to shake and she began to sob bitterly, clapping a hand over her mouth. He cautiously stepped forward and rubbed her back, watching tears roll down her cheeks. She bristled slightly at his touch, but didn't move away, which he was grateful for. He watched her quietly, waiting for her to calm down.

Slowly, she turned toward him, and this time she let him pull her into his arms. Her sobs turned into soft weeping, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

His head was spinning. _Pepper's pregnant!_ , his brain screamed at him over and over again.

Finally, she spoke. "Please believe me! I didn't do this on purpose," she said. "I _swear_ to you. You _know_ I would never try to trap you into anything!" She raised her head, and Tony looked at her frowning.

"Who said I thought that?" he said curiously.

"I _know_ you, Tony," she said. She slowly moved out of his arms. She walked to the window and looked out across the ocean again. "This isn't something you wanted. I _know_ that."

"Pep, hold on a second," he said, walking over to her. She turned to face him. "First, I need to know how this happened. Weren't we supposed to be... _protected?_ " he said, struggling to use the proper term.

"We _were_. I was on the pill. But I _may_ have..." she said, trailing off. She looked away shamefully.

" _You may have._.." Tony repeated anxiously.

Pepper huffed. "I may have forgotten to refill my prescription on _time_ the last time," she said quietly, avoiding Tony's eyes in embarrassment.

Tony smoothed his goatee again with his hand. "Uh-huh," he said. _She was usually so on top of these things!_ , he thought. "And _why_ did you forget?" he asked, trying make the tone of his voice more inquisitive sounding than interrogative.

She frowned. "It was during the whole _Mandarin_ situation," she said defensively. "I guess I was more concerned with whether or not you were _alive_ , or whether _I'd_ make it out _alive_ , than when we'd be having _sex_ again!" Pepper exclaimed. She backed away from the window and moved toward the door of the bedroom. New tears surfaced and she swiped at them furiously. She walked to their closet, muttering "I should have known," and "How could I be so stupid!" to herself. Tony watched her storm back and forth as she first brought out a suitcase, and then a pile of clothes. She started shoving the clothes into the suitcase, muttering and huffing to herself.

"Pepper, hold up!" he said, shaking his head in confusion. "Stop! Can't we talk about this?" he pleaded.

"Don't worry! You've said all you need to say! I _know_ how you feel about this. It's not a secret, Tony. So you know what? I'll just leave. And you can go back to being single, and care-free, and you won't have to worry about me screwing your life up anymore!" she proclaimed. She jerked the suitcase zipper closed and dragged it off the bed. She spun around and stormed down the stairs, clunking the suitcase noisily behind her down each step. Tony followed closely behind her.

"Pepper! Stop! Why can't we talk about this?! You tell me you're pregnant and you don't expect me to be shocked?! What the hell?!" Tony yelled back, as he was running down the stairs after her.

She stopped at the bottom and spun around to face him. He stopped abruptly, bracing for whatever was going to be flying his way. Pepper's eyes burned with angry tears.

"You know? I'd hoped some day I'd become a mother, and that the father would _actually_ be excited to _be_ a father! I even started to think that it might be _you_ who would be that person! I guess I was wrong. And you know what? I'll be _damned_ if I'm going to bring an unwanted child into this world!" she spat out.

Tony was taken aback. " _Jesus_ , _Pepper_ , what are you saying?" he said. "That you'd...you'd actually _terminate_ the..." He gestured around his middle, unable to finish the sentence. He brought a hand to his lips and looked at her in dumbfounded shock, and Pepper saw the hurt in his eyes. " _Jesus,_ " he said to himself. He sat down heavily on the bottom step. He rubbed his face in his hands and shook his head sadly. He looked up at her, his eyes big and round and sad, and her heart broke into a million pieces. She'd stung him. She could see it. Never in a million years would she have dreamed that the idea of her ending a pregnancy he'd helped to create would be something that could hurt him. But by God, _it did_.

Pepper took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She watched Tony for a moment as he shifted his gaze downward, working his jaw in thought, his eyes dark and glassy. He was staring at the floor in front of him and she could see him trying to process what had just happened.

She quietly laid her suitcase down on the floor and sat on it. She exhaled and his attention was drawn back to her. "Is that _really_ what you think I'd want you to do?" he asked her quietly.

Pepper looked at him for a moment in thought before answering. "I wouldn't blame you if you did," she said simply.

Tony shook his head in disbelief. "Wow, I must _really_ be an asshole," he replied. "My own girlfriend thinks I'd want her to...," he swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence. He worked his jaw some more in thought, and then flicked his eyes to Pepper. "Tell me," he said softly, frowning. "Do you see me any differently than you did, say, _before_ what happened in Afghanistan?"

Pepper was startled by the question. She frowned, not following his train of thought. "Of course!" she said softly. "Of course! How could I not?"

"Yeah, right. How could you not?" he said sardonically.

Pepper shook her head in confusion. "Tony, what are you getting at?" she asked.

He stood up and walked away from where they were sitting to the middle of the living room. She followed, keeping her distance behind him. He kept his back turned to her. His arms were crossed and he stood absolutely still and silent for what seemed like an eternity. Pepper frowned, waiting for his next move.

Tony sighed. He turned back around, throwing his hands up in the air and shaking his head in defeat. "I give up," he said with a broken smile. "I don't know what I have to do to prove to you that I love you, and that I want to be with you, and that you're the _only_ person who matters to me, and..." he said. He paused and nodded toward Pepper's belly. "Well, not the _only_ person, now. Not _anymore,_ " he said. He shook his head again, and turned back around.

Pepper walked slowly over to him and laid her head against his back. She put her hands on his arms and squeezed them lovingly. Tony closed his eyes at her touch, but resisted the urge to squeeze one of her hands in acknowledgment.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I should have given you more credit."

"Yeah, well," he mumbled flippantly. He went silent again, still reeling from the sting of Pepper's words. After a few moments, he spoke softly. "I know I have a long history, Pepper. I know I was a selfish bastard to you, to everyone around me, to... hell, _the whole world_ , really. I _know_ that. And I may never live that part of my life down. And, _really_ , I'm okay with that _except_ for one thing. The damage I did to _you,_ " he said, turning back around to face her. He took her hands in his and placed them on his chest, looking deep into her eyes. "So once and for all, Pepper. From the bottom of my heart, I'm _sorry._ For all of those drunken nights, for all of those meaningless girls I had you toss outta here, for all of those 3 am calls expecting the world from you at a moment's notice, and for all of those messes I made that you had to clean up with the press all those times. Okay? I'm _sorry_. But the biggest thing I'm sorry for? That I wasted all of that time not realizing that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I'll _be_ sorry for that for the rest of my life. Especially _now_ because you actually think that I wouldn't want you to..." Tony stopped and searched Pepper's eyes as he looked for the right words to say. "Have my baby," he said finally. A weak smile crossed his lips, but Pepper watched it fade and be replaced by hurt again. Her eyes teared up at his words. He continued to speak. " _Please_ , Pep," he murmured. "I know this sounds strange coming from me, but I'm _begging_ you. _Please_ don't terminate this pregnancy. _Please?_ You're the _only one_ I'd ever want this with. _Please._ "

Pepper shook her head. "Tony, I wasn't going to. I just..." she sighed. "I was scared. I was scared about what you would think, I was scared about you feeling like I trapped you. But _mostly_..." she said, pausing to put the words together. Tony waited patiently, the hurt still evident in his eyes. He gently brushed her cheek with the tips of his fingers and swept a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Mostly, I was scared that _I_ wouldn't be able to handle this," she admitted.

" _Pepper_ ," Tony said, breaking into a gentle smile. "Are you _kidding_? You're superwoman! You can handle anything!" She smiled and chuckled in response. "Wanna know how I know that?" he said, the sparkle starting to come back into his eyes.

"How?" Pepper said, smiling softly.

"Because after all of the _shit_ I've put you through, you've stuck around. So, if you can put up with _this_ baby," he said, motioning to himself with his thumbs while still holding her hands in his. "Then you can _certainly_ handle having _our_ baby."

Pepper giggled and Tony smiled warmly. She kissed his lips sweetly. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat through his shirt and it was the most comforting sound in the world at that moment. He was there, _with her_. He hadn't tried to run. But _she_ had tried to, and she felt ashamed of her knee-jerk defensiveness. She never wanted to hurt him again like she'd hurt him this time. She knew he loved her, and that he'd come along way from the man he used to be. He obviously wanted to take care of her, and raise their baby together. And if that meant having a bomb-shelter in their basement, then so be it.

"Apology accepted, by the way," Tony quipped as he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

Pepper raised her head and looked at him curiously. "What?" she said.

"You said you were sorry? For not giving me credit and all? And I accept," Tony said, smirking. "It's not often that _you're_ the one whose apologizing, so I'm just making a note for the record." He smiled and Pepper's heart warmed. She giggled.

"You're _gloating,_ is what you're doing," she teased.

Tony shrugged and smirk. "Yeah, okay. Maybe a little," he admitted. He chuckled. "So we're really pregnant, huh?" he said, his eyes sparkling excitedly.

"It would appear so," Pepper said, smiling warmly. She patted her stomach and Tony knelt down in front of her. She looked at him curiously.

He put a gentle hand on her belly. "Hello in there, little Stark," he said, softly. He cleared his throat and tried to sound serious while a smirk crept across his lips. "This is your father speaking. I'll be the one getting you the goods when your mom's craving weird stuff like pickles and ice cream. But nothing _too_ weird, alright? Like chalk or dirt, or something? I've heard some women crave that stuff, and frankly, I don't get that. That's just... _bizarre_ , you know? Oh, and you and I will have to talk about all the puking you're making her do. Your mom's a beautiful woman, but clinging desperately to the toilet bowl while retching her guts out every morning isn't a good look for her. For _anybody_ , for _that_ matter..." Pepper rolled her eyes and smirked, playfully smacking Tony's shoulder at that last remark but secretly loving the moment as he rambled on to their unborn child.

Tony flinched when she smacked him, but kept talking. "Past that, I'll be the best dad in the world. You'll see. You and I will be buddies. We'll build stuff. _Cool_ stuff. And you can always come talk to me about girls,'cuz, hello, you'll be a knock out. A lady killer. It's _inevitable_..." he said, matter-of-fact.

"And if _he's_ a _she_?" Pepper interjected, giving him a wry smile.

Tony looked up at her blankly, as if the thought of him having a daughter instead of a son had never crossed his mind. " _Then_..." he said, clicking his tongue in thought, and then turned his gaze back to Pepper's stomach. "We'll _still_ build cool stuff. And of course you'll be beautiful, like your mom. But you don't get to talk to me about boys until you're 35."

Pepper giggled. Tony smiled at making her laugh. He kissed her stomach and rested his head on it, as she ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying her touch. Then he looked up at her and smiled.

"I love you," he said. "I love you, and I love that your pregnant, and it'll be great. Right?" he said, slowly standing up.

" _Right_ ," Pepper said, nodding in the affirmative, and grinning.

Tony grinned back, and bent to kiss her lips. Then he pulled her tightly into his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling with relief as he held her close.


End file.
